Rodolphus Lestrange
by BellatrixLunaRiddle
Summary: Bellatrix is in Azkaban. She's cold, hurt and lonely, and just needs someone to talk to who'll understand. Of course she loves the dark lord- who wouldn't! But she loves the kind man in the cell next door too. He makes her feel safe. Protected. Happy.


A/N- I usually do Bellamort, but today, I thought that maybe Bellatrix needs someone she can rely on, and who can give her a shoulder to cry on. So that's what this is. The softer, hidden side of Bellatrix, that we don't see in the films or the books, but which easily could be there when she's not busy killing people.

...

I gaze through the bars of the cell towards the sky above Azkaban. As a child, I had been told that I was named after a star, as all Blacks had. I'd often wondered which one I was, but in the end it didn't matter. Every one is a glimmer of hope amongst the darkness. They are beacons of warmth escaping the chill.

It is cold. So cold. There is no heating in the North Sea prison, and the dementors turn my toes to ice. The chill traps my soul, like the walls trap my body. Encasing me, surrounding me, suffocating me.

I long to be free. 'He will come' is the phrase I have told myself each and every day, for the past fourteen years. Every year I doubted him more and more. There was a time when the mark on my arm appeared to be just a faint, old scar.

And yet every day it strengthens now. Sometimes I feel it burn. I feel his pull. 'I'm waiting, My Lord' I think 'I'm here, waiting'. I wish the stars could tell him. Tell him how I long for him. How I dearly wish he would come for me. They could send my message to him. Pass it through the constellations.

And yet as I look at them, they seem less welcoming. Less friendly. They're falling -no, running- out of the sky towards me. Armed and dangerous. They're coming to kill me! Like warriors! Or knights! Charging! Screaming! Hunting! Chasing! I try to run, but as I do, I slip over! Falling! Falling! I land n my face, crumpled in a heap. The pain soars across my body, and the crash echoes across the cell.

"Bella, are you okay?"

I hear the voice, but can't quite place who it's owner is. The blood in my mouth screams louder than any man could.

"Bella! Answer me!"

And now I hear voices. Warped and twisted, living in my very soul.

"Bellatrix"

And sobbing. The voices is upset. But that's silly. Voices don't have emotions.

And then the room becomes cold. So cold. Am I dying? I don't feel dead.

"Bellatrix! I love you. Answer meeeEEEEE..."

And the screaming begins. The swooshing of dementors. Like a cloud. Yet as I force open my eyes, I don't see any. The screaming isn't mine. It's a man. I know that scream, but the blood dazes my mind.

Let's start with the fact. I'm Bellatrix. I have... the screaming gets louder, and more pained. I'm Bellatrix. I have two sisters. I think I hate them... wait, no that might just be the dementors clouding my thoughts. I'm Bellatrix. I have two sisters. I serve the Dark Lord. I'm married to...

"Rodolphus!"

That's who's in the cell next door. That's who's screaming. That's who they're tormenting. Poor Dolph. Poor Roddy. He's not as strong as me. He can't deal with the dementors.

And I sit here, with my hands over my ears, wishing for the screams to go away. I want to think something happy, but I can't with them around. He's no longer screaming, but I know they're still there, sucking the life from him. I can feel their draught seeping through the wall that separates me from my husband. He has a tendency to think of something happy when he thinks I'm hurt. That must be what caused the dementors to come to him.

Eventually, the cold goes away, and I go to the thin wall which separates us.

"Roddy? You okay?"

I hear his muffled reply as he tells me he's fine, but it doesn't convince me. He's so fragile. So weak. He needs to be protected.

"I love you Dolph" I hear myself say. And it's true. I'll admit that I passionately love the Dark Lord, but my love for Rodolphus is sweet and friendly. He comforts me when I'm sad, and I do the same for him.

We found a small hole in the bricks. It has a bend in it, so we can't see each other, but if I put one finger through it on my side, and so does he on his, they meet in the middle. The warmth of his touch and the simple human contact is all that can make me calmer and happier. I do that now. I shakily reach out my hand, and poke my index finger into the hole, like it's a little worm.

"Roddy, I'm cold"

No more words were needed; because he knew even one touch would make me feel warm again. He is cold from the dementors, but the softness of his finger has no equal. Even my hair, once rich and glossy, now feels like straw.

"Bellatrix" he says warmly, "I love you, Bella."

I smile, for although his words are simple, they are reassuring.

"You're the most beautiful girl in the world"

I wish he could see me now. I look at my reflection in what I think is my own urine, and realise how horrendous I look.

"I wish I could hold you again Bella. Tell you everything will be okay"

Tears spring to my eyes, and I stroke his finger as best I can in the thin hole.

"Everything will be okay, Dolph." I speak with certainty, for I know it will take away his fears, "Do you feel your Dark Mark burn? To you see it on your arm, clear as the moon in the night sky? He's coming for us Roddy. I know he'll come. We are his most loyal."

Will he come? I wonder to myself if there was any truth in my words.

"Yeh... I guess we are, Bellatrix. I'm sure he won't leave us here. He needs us... right"

I laugh a little.

"Oh Roddy, of course he needs us! Who else has he got? Lucius 'how does my hair look?' Malfoy, and Augustus 'the fatty' Rookwood! He needs us Dolph. We're his best soldiers."

Does he need us? I wonder if we're useful, or if we're just pawns in his little plan. But I hear Roddy's cute little laugh, and all my worries fade away.

"Rodolphus..." I say

"Yes, beautiful?"

"Have I ever told you how sweet you are?"

"A lot... but I'd like to hear you say it again, just to make sure..." I giggle, like some dewy-eyed schoolgirl.

"Roddy, you're the sweetest guy in the whole wide world, and I love you."

He pauses, for what seems like an eternity, then says-

"You didn't convince me... try harder"

I wish I could kiss him right now. It would save words, and be much more effective.

"Rodolphus Lestrange. You are incredibly hot, and funny, and you always make me smile. You are so unbelievably adorable, and you're the sweetest man in the world. I know some people say you're an evil, soulless murderer, but those are the people who don't know the real you. Not like I do."

I start to cry, and I don't even know why it's happening.

"I'll always remember when we were at Hogwarts, Roddy, and I never got on with the other girls, I was best friends with you, Dolohov and Rookwood. You always stuck up for me when the other girls were being mean. Of course, I eventually learnt to stick up for myself, but that wasn't until about 4th year. It was in 5th year I started to notice you as more than just my best friend, but you were dating all the pretty girls, who made an effort to look good, and wore makeup. And so it was then I borrowed some of Andi and Cissy's makeup, and I can to sit with you in the common room with it on... and you just... stared. It was that night, you told me I was beautiful, and you told me I didn't need makeup to look stunning. And somehow we both confessed how we'd fallen for each other."

He stays silent.

"And from then on, you made my life perfect. No matter what happened, you made it all okay. You're always there for me, and I am for you. You're just so sweet. You keep me from going insane. I feel safe with you around."

Safe? I'm Bellatrix Lestrange. I can look after myself... can't I? Although people may think I can, I can't. Even the darkest of people need a shoulder to cry on.

"Bella. I Love You."

"I love you too, Rodolphus."

We stay, locked in our moment forever.

But forever isn't long enough, for all too soon, the cloud of darkness comes back once again. To both of us. To abolish and destroy the happy thoughts we just had. It's cold. So cold. Like ice penetrating my very soul. But that's effectively what it is. Ice which storms in, and pulls away the warm glow of happiness, feeding off its warmth, blowing out the candle of hope. And I close my eyes, to block out the empty faces of the dementors. To block out the world. If I could, I would get lost in my own thoughts, and never return, but I have to hide from those now too, for they are chilled and full of pain and sorrow. So I lie here in the void. Thinking of nothing. Seeing nothing. Wishing for the ice and the pain to go away.

And eventually it does.

I don't remember what I was doing that made the dementors come. My life is full of sadness. I heard dementors fed off happiness and happy memories, but I have none, so I don't know why I was hurt.

I sit down on the cold stone floor, and look at my broken self. I feel so alone. The dark mark on my wrist burns stronger every day. I gaze at it, then hold it up to my mouth, and lick down its length, hoping to extinguish the fire. Fire burns bright, but nothing burns bright in Azkaban. It is only cold.

I wish I could hear something other than the screams of people dying, but the birds do not dare roam these seas.

And it is then that I do hear something. Coming closer, and closer... or am I just imagining it? I can't tell anymore.

I wish he would come for me. I wish he would...

CRASH!

My head snaps round and I take a protective stance at what caused the sound.

It is then I realise the entire wall has been demolished.

I see sky!

I see sea!

I feel wind!

I stumble out into the vast expanses of the world, laughing with happiness.

Freedom at last!

He came for me!

I knew he would come!

He had to!

"I'M FREE!"

Before I even work out how to get away, I turn to the right of me, to see a man from the cell next door, staring at me. It interests me to know who this is, and I carefully wander towards him.

Is it anyone I know?

If it is, they can't be special.

Nobody loves me.

But then I see his face, and somehow, the memories make their way back to me.

Is it...?

"Roddy!" I start to run, and fling myself into his arms, crying into his chest.

"Oh, Rodolphus. How I missed you. I love you"

"I love you too." His soft voice replies, as he kisses my forehead, and holds me tightly and protectively.

I look up into his warm eyes, and wonder how I'd ever lived without them, before we kiss, deeply and sweetly. I feel safe in his arms.

The Dark Lord has saved us, but he's long gone now, so we stand at the edge of the prison, holding hands.

"Ready to jump and swim?" He asks me, and I simply nod, unafraid.

His hand lets go of mine as we leap, and dive down into the vast ocean. The falling is terrifying, yet amazing, at the same time.

I crash down into the hard water. It's all around. Dark. Cold. Am I drowning? NO. I can't survive this long in Azkaban just to be defeated by water. I swim in the direction I think the surface is; ready to fight, and swim to land, so I can soon honour my Lord's noble cause. The waves beat me about, as I try to find the air, and I keep fighting, with all my might, to get to the water's surface. Swimming! Diving! Searching for a way out!

I'm freaking out now, and starting to get scared, when a pair of strong arms drag me to the surface of the dark sea, choking and spluttering. Trying to get rid of the taste of salt.

After a long time of choking, I blearily look up into a warm loving face, and the comforting eyes of my husband.

Rodolphus Lestrange.

I feel protected when he's around.

...

A/N- Reviews! Please! For every review, Bellatrix gets another Roddy hug! Please review, even if you only say 'I like it' or 'I hate it'. Reviews=hugs


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